Redirect chain tracer
Follow a URL to where it actually ends up, one hop at a time.
Free, instant, and nothing to sign up for.
This checked one thing. A full audit reads the whole site and tells you what to fix first.
Run the free auditWhat this checks
- Every hop, with its status code and destination
- The final URL and its status
- Chains longer than they need to be, and redirect loops
- Temporary redirects used where a permanent one belongs
Why it matters
Every redirect costs a round trip before anyone sees anything, and chains multiply that on the slowest connections. They also leak: link equity passes through a redirect imperfectly, so a chain of three quietly discards value that a single hop would keep. Chains accumulate over years of site changes, and nobody goes looking for them because every URL still works.
How to read the result
One hop is normal and often correct. Two is worth tidying. Three or more is a chain to collapse, by pointing the first URL straight at the last. A 302 where you meant a 301 is the other finding worth acting on: a temporary redirect tells search engines to keep the old URL, so the new page never fully inherits what the old one earned.
Common questions
What is the difference between a 301 and a 302?
A 301 says the move is permanent, so search engines transfer the old URL's standing to the new one. A 302 says it is temporary and to keep the old URL indexed. Most 302s in the wild were meant to be 301s.
How many redirects are too many?
More than two hops is worth fixing. Browsers and crawlers both give up somewhere around five, and every hop adds delay for the visitor.
Why does this tool make requests when the others do not?
Because a redirect chain only exists on the live web, so there is nothing to paste. It follows a maximum of six hops, checks each destination is a public address, and does not store the URL you enter.
Other free checks
Each one answers a different question about the same page.